Title
Expressing the City Council's priorities for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's 95 Revive Project from Center City to South Philadelphia
Body
WHEREAS, Interstate 95, or I-95, is the sixth-longest interstate in the country, spanning from Miami to the U.S.-Canada border in Maine; and
WHEREAS, The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) is planning for the full reconstruction of I-95, or the Delaware Expressway, between Spring Garden Street in Center City Philadelphia, and the Girard Point Bridge in South Philadelphia as part of its 95 Revive Project, impacting the Philadelphia neighborhoods of Old City, Society Hill, Queen Village, Pennsport, and Whitman; and
WHEREAS, According to public outreach materials shared by consultant AECOM, all alternatives in the planning study would widen I-95 from six to eight lanes between the Walt Whitman Bridge and South Broad Street, as well as consider a massive expansion of the Walt Whitman Bridge interchange for direct movements; and
WHEREAS, Senator Nikil Saval and Representative Elizabeth Fiedler released a joint statement on January 31, 2024 opposing "any expansion of I-95 that would bring more high-speed traffic, noise and air pollution, or reduce green space," reflecting significant community and public concern over the PennDOT project, and the highway itself; and
WHEREAS, Construction on the Philadelphia portion of I-95 first began in 1959. Despite heavy local opposition, the highway plowed through hundreds of homes in South Philadelphia, Center City, and the River wards, severing the City of Philadelphia from the Delaware River for much of its length; and
WHEREAS, The Society Hill neighborhood managed to limit the damage to their community by burying I-95 below grade along their portion of the interstate. Further efforts to connect I-95 to a crosstown expressway running along South Street were defeated by community opposition in the 1960s; and
WHEREAS, Since its construction, I-95 ha...
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